woodhouse



(No Model-) 0. E. WOODHOUSE.

HANDLE FOR BASKETS OR LAWN TENNIS BATS. No. 259,448. Patented June 1OTWAY E. WOODHOU SE, 0F 20 UPPER PHILLIMORE GARDENS, KENSINGTON,

COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND.

HANDLE FOR RACKETS OR LAWN-TENNiS 'BATS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 259,448, dated June 13,1882.

To all whom Lt may concern Be it known that I, OTWAY EDWARD W001)-HOUSE, asubject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at 20 UpperPhillimore Gardens, Kensington, in the county of Middlesex and Kingdomof Great Britain, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inHandles for Rackets or Lawn-Tennis Bats; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to letters or figures of reference marked there on, which form apart of this specification.

This invention of improvements in handles for rackets or lawn-tennisbats relates to the t'orrnof the handle, which is designed to assist theplayer in accommodating his hand to the position where his hand shouldbe to give an efi'ective stroke in those positions of the ball duringthe game requiring different manipulations of the bat.

In the game of lawn-tennis the strokes of the bat may be classed intoserving or service strokes and into volleying or taking the ball fullpitch, and occasionally a short twiststroke requires that the bat shallbe held very close to the face of the bat. There are therefore threedegrees of the hand upon the bathandleservice-stroke at the end of thehandle, volley-stroke at the middle of the handle, and a shorttwist-stroke at the end nearest to the face. This necessary place forthe hand to play effectively is very difficult of acquisition, owing tothe player having to watch the ball and finding great difficulty inadjusting his hand from the sameness of diameter of the handle to theexact place required, and as this has to be repeated continually duringthe game any means of securing this adjustment without thought and bysome almost automatic means would be very eesirable. I aecomplish thisby dividing the handle into one or more divisions, according to thedesires of the player-whether he wishes the bat to have one division andtwo positions, two divisions and twopositions, or three divisions andthree positions -preferabl y into th rec-that is, there are three bulgesmade on the handle, or two de- Application filed May S, 1882. (Nomodel.) Patented in England February 16, 1881, No. 662.

pressions-that is, the handle, whether square or round, is made ofuneven diameter by reducing the stock of the handle at these two reducedplaces. Consequently the handle is now divided or defined into threeportions, each bulbous or larger than the two reduced portions. Thesereduced portions form stops for the hand and divisions by which the handreadily and mechanically takes its position, and also prevents the batfrom slipping through the hand, and also materially increasing thefacility with which the hand grips the bandle. Whether the handle ismade to this shape by reducing the stock, as described, or by adding tothe stock where the bulbous portions are is immaterial, that beingmerely a question of manufacturing detail. The handle may be describedas undulating on each face, or having wave-outlines. The player withthis novel handle has now the means of adjusting his hand to the threepositions described almost automatically and without taking hisattention from the play of the ball.' The depressions in the handleserve to give gripfor the hand and to prevent slipping, and the bulgesallow the hand to arrest the slip of the handle through the hand whenchanging position.

In the drawings forming part of this specification Figure l is a plan ofthe handle of a lawn-tennis or racket bat fitted with these improvements; Fig. 2, elevation or view on edge of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, plan ofthe handle of a lawntennis or racket bat fitted with a modification ot'the form shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 an elevation or view on edge ofFig. 3.

In Figs. 1 and 2 the bulges are less undu lating, or formed by segmentsof curved lines, which lines would intersect at points at e. In Figs. 2and 3 the bulges are formed by wavecurves, the depressions d and e notforming intersecting curves. In principle they are the same to affordgrip to the hand and distinguish the point where the hand shall hold thebat, and the way in which these depressions and bulges shall be made issimply a question for the manufacturer. The form may be cut out of thesolid wood, or it may be built up in layers of wood or other suitablematerial to the desired form, or partly in one method and partly inanother. In place of intersecting curves or undulating curves the bulgesand depressions may be made by straight lines, thus diamonding thehandle to give the desired form. If the bat-handle is not square, butohlong in section, the hand can more readily give the angle required tothe face of the bat. Having now described and particularly set forth thenature of the said invention, and the inannerof carrying thesaineintoeffect, I would have it understood that what I claim is- A lawn-tennisor racket bat having a. bandle made in the form substantially asdescribed, for the purposes set forth.

In testinionywhereof I aflix my signature in 15 presence of twowitnesses.

OTWA WOODHOUSE.

Witnesses:

CECIL O. POWELL, WM. MORGAN BROWN.

